Charges against Timothy Trybus, 62, have been upgraded from misdemeanor assault and disorderly conduct to felony hate crimes after the Cook County D.A. reviewed the video of his inebriated encounter in a public park with a woman wearing a shirt depicting the Puerto Rico flag.
The woman, Mia Irizarry, was setting up a family birthday party in a park pavilion she had a permit to use.
Trybus took offense at her shirt and ranted she “shouldn’t be wearing that in the United States of America.” Puerto Rico is a U.S. territory, Puerto Ricans are U.S. citizens, and the Puerto Rico flag is equivalent to a state flag.
While he approached Irizarry menacingly and shouted obscenities, a police officer later identified as Patrick Connor stood nearby and refused to intervene, even after Irizarry asked for his help. Connor eventually called for backup, and Trybus was arrested after other officers arrived. Following the incident, Connor was initially placed on desk duty, and then resigned.
Trybus has previously been arrested for drinking in public, domestic violence, assault and battery, and criminal trespass. If convicted of the hate crime charges, he could get 2 to 5 years in prison.